Oil can



Feb. 10, 1931. F. c. LINDSEY OIL CAN Filed Oct. 11, 1,928

f. C. Linds INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

chine interferes.

Patented Feb. 10, 1.931 I iaaznzo I P Unirensrares e arjss'rorr ce, 1

o FREDERICK exocr ne LmpsEY, or

rarnvrnuimn, Wisconsin I I oil. can

Application filed October 11; 1928.; Serial 311,938. 1

This invention relates to oil cans, and more specifically, to anjimiprovedoil can or 'oiler by means-oi which lubricating'oil can be forced upward through theoiling spent.

": 5 'Infapplying oil to machinery, therefiare many parts which needlubric atio'n and which are not accessible by means of an ordinary oil can or oiler, by reason of the fact that'sorne superposed or overhanging part of the ma- Therefore, the main object of thisinvention is to provide an oil. can or oiler which, while being operated as any of the'regular or standard oilers, will actas a force pump, for fore-- in the oil u ward so that such com a-rative- 1y inaccessible parts of the machinery can be conveniently and easily reached by the'oil-' can-spout whileit is in itsedective position for applying oil, by forcing the oil upward through the oil-can-spout.

Another object 0 thisinvention is. to provide a device of this character which iscomparatively simple, capable of being manufactured at. a reasonable cost, and which does r, not sacrifice any of the good qualities of the Figure 8 is a bottom plan view of the closing cap and the parts which are united therewith.

Figure 4 is an enlarged central sectional View illustrating the construction of the closing cap and the check-valve, the oiling spout being omitted a fragment of the body or container being also shown in this view.

Referring to these drawings in detail, in

which similar reference characters correspond to similar parts in the several views,

and in which the body or container 5 is of the usual form iinflwhichthe bottom 6 isdownwardly bulged and upwardly depressable, it will be seen that the screw-cap has the usual threaded engagement with the filling opening, as indicated at 7, and that the usual ring orgaslret 8 prevents leakage betweenthe container 5 and'the rim of the screw cap which is indlcatedi at 9. This screw capis centrally apertured, as shown at 10,. andthe oiling spout ll'extends through this opening 10. it feeding pipe or channel 12 is connected'to the spout 11 at or adjacent to theopening- 10. As shown in Figure 2, the part 12 extends into the lower end. of the spout 11,.and these parts 10 and 11 are preferably soldered to one another and-to the bottom of the screw capf9 by solder or:otherappropr1ate means, as indicated at113. The feeding pipe 12 extends at an angleto the oilingspout 11, .and its lower end terminates at a point nearthe pe-- riphery of the bottom 6. The feeding spout is sufliciently. capacious to hold aconside'rw ble amount of oil, and to freely feed the oil into the, spout ll without unnecessary retardation, while its lowerend ,is partially closed either bya' cap such: as shown inoFig ure 2,;Jor by other appropriate means, and is pro-. vided IWltll; a relatively small opening 14 through which the oil can be-forced in a manner which will presently be explained.

1. An air inletmember or tube 15has its upper 7 end closed, and has air inlets 16 near its-closed upper end. i The lower endoi this tube 15 is normally closed by m-eansof a spring-valve 17, butcapable of beingopened by a down- "ward movementvof the contiguous end of the spring-valve, the latter being secured'to the bottom of thefscrew-cap, by solder or other "appropriate means, at 18. This spring-valve is preferably of the shape shown in Figure 3, that is, substantially semi-circular, so it will "not be interfered'with by the feeding tube 1 This spring-valve is preferably of very thin, flexible and elastic metal, and fits snugly against the lower end of the air inlet pipe 15 n consequence of its spring action. The tube 15 extends through an eccentric opening 19,

and maybe secured therein by SOldGIiOI other appropriate means, as indicated at 20. The

purpose of having the upper end of the pipe 15 closed, is to prevent metal shavings, dirt and other objectionable matter from falling into the oil can, while the air inlets 16 admit air which is used to force the oil through the feeding pipe 12 and spout 11.

The operation of this oil can is as follows:

Naturally, the user holds the oil can with the curved end of the spent in the position shown in Figure 1, but even if the spout is not curved, the operative position is indicated by the tube 15 which is always at the upper side. In other words, the lower end of the feeding tube is diametrically opposite to the side having the tube 15, and by keeping this tube 15 at the top, it is known that the feeding pipe 12 is extending downward. Of course the oil gravitates to the lowestpoint, and. as long as there is a very small quantity of oil in the container, the lower end of the feeding pipe is surrounded by the oil. Therefore, when the bottom 6 is pressed inward, the valve prevents the oil or air from escaping through the tube 15, so some of the oil is forced upward into or through the feeding pipe 12. When the pressure of the thumb or finger is released from the bottom 6, it returns to its normal position, and causes a partial vacuum to draw air in through the tube 15. This return of the bot-tom 6 and intake of air occurs very quickly, while the oil tends to return through the opening 14 very sluggishly, because of the comparative smallness of this opening and the comparatively slight pressure or weight of the oil in the pipe 12. Therefore, if the bottom 6 is depressed and released in rapid succession, the oil will accumulate in the feeding pipe and oiling tube until the latter overflows into or onto the part of the machine where the oil is intended to be applied.

It is obvious that this oil can is not only useful for forcing the oil upward, but also for applying the oil while the oiling spout is extending downward. In this latter use of the oil can, it is particularly useful in preventing the oil from being used in excess, for the opening 14, as previously explained, causes the oil to flow sluggishly through the feeding tube, and when the oil can is inverted, the normally lower end of the tube (which has the opening 14 therein) is above the level of the oil in the container, so the contents of the feeding pipe and oiling spout is relieved from the weight of the greater part of the oil in the container.

Although I have described this embodiment of my invention very specifically, it is not my intention to limit my patent protection to these exact details of construction and arrangement, for changes may be made within the scope of the inventive ideas as implied and claimed.

lVhat I claim as my invention is:

1. An oiler comprising a container having a springy part that is inwardly depressable and which retracts by its spring action, an air-inlet, a spring-valve normally closing said air-inlet and preventing the exit of air therethrough, an oiling spout communicating with the interior of said container, and an oil feeding tube united with the inner end of the oiling spout and forming an inwardextension thereof and extending to a point near the periphery of the containers bottom and having a restricted opening at its inner end, substantially as described, for the purposes specified.

2. The structure defined by claim l,the said air-inlet being atthe opposite side of the oiling spout from the said inner end of the feeding tube, for the purpose specified.

3. An oiler comprising a container provided with a springy part adapted to be pressed inward and to retract by its spring action and thereby tend to create a partial vacuum, said container having an oil-receiving opening, a removable cap normally sealing said opening and provided with an open ing an oiling spout that communicates with the interior of the container through said opening in said cap, an air-inlet through which air is drawn into the container by de pressing and releasing said springy part, a spring-valve to close said air-inlet and prevent exit of air therethrough, and a feeding pipe united with the inner end of the oiling spout so as to form an inward extension thereof and extending to a point near the periphery of the containers bottom and having a restricted inlet, substantially as shown, for the purposes specified.

In testimony whereof l affix my signature.

FREDERICK CBOCKER LINDSEY. 

